“It’s booming at the moment, courts are being built all over the place.”

That’s Charlotte Elgood talking about the sport of padel, a sport that is one of the fastest growing in the world.

And it’s certainly growing at a rapid rate in and around Gloucestershire, with the East Glos Club in Cheltenham leading the way.

“We had three courts built during lockdown,” said Charlotte, a former top squash player who teaches padel at East Glos.

“They are set in a beautiful setting among the grass tennis courts and with a backdrop of both Leckhampton and Cleeve Hill. On a sunny day it feels like you are on holiday!

“Padel has brought in many new members and they can now all enjoy the four racket sports – tennis, squash, racketball and padel – which are offered at the club. There is a great community feel with all sections of the club being brought together.” 

So what exactly is padel?

“It’s a combination of tennis and squash,” said Charlotte. “It’s played on a smaller court than tennis and is surrounded by a glass wall and mesh.

“It brings together the great wall skills of squash and the great volleying skills of tennis.”

It’s always played in doubles and Charlotte continued: “It’s fast, very tactical and very addictive. At the top level it’s very exciting with lots of smashes, lots of volleys and the ball flying out of the court.”

Charlotte said that the sport is not too physically demanding so it is ideal for families as well as younger and older players.

“It’s fun,” she said. “Padel is proving to be very popular at East Glos and the courts are very busy all the time.”

This will explain why padel courts are starting to pop up all over Gloucestershire.

“Two outdoor courts have just opened in Elkstone and there’s two more near Daylesford,” said Charlotte. “There’s a place in Swindon that is under cover and four padel centres have recently been opened in Bristol, all under cover. Bristol has exploded in the past six months.”

East Glos has been at the forefront of the explosion, of course, and Charlotte continued: “There are many organised social sessions available throughout the week at East Glos and these are always fully booked.

“There are also thriving internal box leagues with around 100 players competing in ladies’, men’s and mixed leagues.

“Beginners and Improvers group coaching is also available. We also have men’s and ladies’ teams which compete in the LTA national league.“

Charlotte’s daughter Jess Johnson plays at a higher level and proud mum said: “She’s a very good player.”

Mother and daughter teamed up to win the ladies’ championship at East Glos last year with Charlotte describing herself as an “average player, quite good”.

She obviously enjoys playing padel but says that racketball is her favourite sport, before adding with a laugh: “I have to say that, I’m racketball manager at East Glos!”

She also coaches squash at Cheltenham Ladies’ College so the 48-year-old keeps herself very busy. And if padel continues to grow in popularity at its current rate, she’s going to be even busier in the weeks, months and years ahead!